Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2023)

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Submitted
Jul 13, 2023
Published
Jun 28, 2023

Intertextuality and Narrativization of Multiple Perspectives: COVID-19 Pandemic in Popular Songs in Tanzania

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v12i1.306
Spemba Spemba
Mkwawa University College of Education and Stellenbosch university
Yohana Mung’aya

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 12 No. 1 (2023)

Abstract

Close to the end of 2019, COVID-19, an infectious disease that still wreaks havoc, was
discovered in Wuhan – China. The pandemic has become a major worldwide health
problem to date. Its socioeconomic and cultural aftermaths have dominated the
world’s public discourse. Media and literary artefacts reflect the ongoing debate,
education, and communication regarding the pandemic. This paper examines how
popular songs represent multiple (social-cultural, economic, and political) perspectives
regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania. The article focuses on secular and
religious song lyrics to ascertain how they convey multiple perspectives regarding an
understanding of COVID-19, and whether such views might educate an audience. By
drawing ideas from the notion of intertextuality, we argue that Tanzania’s popular
songs are a repository of multiple perspectives, which mirror scientific and political
views, beliefs, and rumours Tanzanians share regarding COVID-19. We further contend
that such songs are a platform through which clashing and conflicting ideas related to
COVID-19 manifest, and that through which the audience becomes aware of various
ideas and issues related to the pandemic, especially in Tanzania.

(Received: 18
th July 2022; Accepted: 17th November 2022; Revised: 26th January 2023)

Keywords

COVID-19, intertextuality, popular songs, multiple perspectives, Tanzania
Spemba, S., & Yohana Mung’aya. (2023). Intertextuality and Narrativization of Multiple Perspectives: COVID-19 Pandemic in Popular Songs in Tanzania . Journal of Humanities &Amp; Social Science (JHSS), 12(1). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v12i1.306
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